Concern for civilians is just another charade in the Western powers’ effort to prolong the existence of terrorist groups as much as possible. We must ask the question which has been avoided and neglected by the corporate media: Who the US, UK and France trying to protect in Eastern Ghouta?

JAISH AL-ISLAM

Notorious Jaish al-Islam is the biggest terrorist group in Eastern Ghouta where they hold their headquarters. They are considered as “moderate rebels” by the West. Just by looking at their name we must ask ourselves how “moderate” such group could be? They are following a Salafist ideology and they are extremely hated by the people of Damascus who see them as the primary cause of their suffering. Jaish al-Islam is a genocidal terrorist organization devoted to the extermination and enslavement of Syrian religious minorities.

Founded on September 29, 2013 as a product of merger of dozens of terrorist groups, the basic core was Liwa al-Islam, which existed two years prior. The founder of that faction was the infamous Zahran Alloush, son of the notorious Saudi backed Salafist scholar Abdullah Muhammad Alloush.

Jaish al-Islam committed horrific terror attacks across Damascus and are responsible for the deaths of thousands of civilians. One of the worst crimes they committed was what is known as the Adra massacre, where dozens of civilians were brutally slaughtered, beheaded, and some of them even burned alive. Many civilians abducted from Adra were later paraded in cages in Eastern Ghouta on November 1, 2015. That act drew the utmost outrage of the people of Damascus.

Zahran Alloush was killed in an air strike on December 25, 2015, which was the best Christmas present the citizens of Damascus could receive.

For many years Jaish al-Islam was allied with the Syrian al-Qaeda branch, al-Nusra Front. But the alliance was broken due to their own petty reasons, like the distribution of the money they received from Gulf countries, or fighting over what they plundered and looted during their criminal activities.

Jaish al-Islam is recognized by the West as part of Syrian “moderate opposition”.

HAYAT TARIR AL-SHAM (FORMER AL-NUSRA FRONT, AL-QAEDA IN SYRIA)

The very well known al-Qaeda affiliate has been present in Eastern Ghouta since late 2011. There is nothing much to say about this terrorist organization which is not already known. Founded in late 2011 and officially announced in January 2012, the organization is responsible for a huge amount of atrocities across Syria. Probably the most heinous attack on Damascus was in December 2016 when one of their members sent two of his daughters aged 7 and 9 to commit a suicide-bombing attack on the police station in Midan neighbourhood. The 7 year old girl, Islam, blew herself up at the station, while her sister Fatemah escaped, since she was unable to enter the station. This perfectly describes what kind of terrorist organization al-Nusra really is.

As the UNSC Resolution 2401 states, any group or individual that is affiliated with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham is a legitimate target.

FAYLAQ AL-RAHMAN

This terrorist organization operates exclusively in Damascus province. They were a recipients of BGM-71 TOW anti-tank guided missile systems, and are also considered as “moderate opposition” forces and part of the so called “Free Syrian Army”. In reality, they are no different from other terrorist groups. They are almost constantly allied with al-Nusra Front, except when they got into a dispute with that terrorist organization over who will lead Friday prayers.

AHRAR AL-SHAM

Probably the biggest terrorist group in Syria, the Salafist criminal organization Ahrar al-Sham, has a presence in Eastern Ghouta and it is now aligned with Jaish al-Islam. They were aligned with Faylaq al-Rahman until May 11, 2017, when they aligned themselves with Jaish al-Islam against al-Nusra Front, in the middle of infighting and war between terrorist groups in Eastern Ghouta.

Ahrar al-Sham is probably the best example of idiocy and utter chaos in Eastern Ghouta, changing sides as it suits them. Today, they are fierce enemies of al-Nusra Front, also out of their own petty reasons. Their existence in Eastern Ghouta is entirely dependable on their relations with Jaish al-Islam.

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All these factions share the same Takfiri ideology and financial support from Gulf countries. Some of them are directly supported by Western powers. All these factions are responsible for thousands of dead, and tens of thousands of wounded civilians in the city of Damascus. They all rain mortar shells and missiles on Damascus on daily basis and are considered by more than 7 million residents of greater Damascus as the worst terrorists, criminals who deserve to be eradicated with no empathy to terrorists whatsoever.